February 22, 1006

In 1874, a committee from the Baptist Church in Onega decided to establish a cemetery on the six acre lot that was used by the Baptist church and later the School until 1965. The Baptist Church from Belew moved to Aubrey and built a wooden frame building that is still in use today. During this period the name of the town changed from Onega to Aubrey.

The number of graves in the cemetery at the Aubrey Baptist church is not known. The six-acre cemetery was located on Church Street. The name of the street didn’t last too many years because the building was moved by a single mule to its current location. The building was relocated in the early days of 1906.

Local historians say that a special moving device was created for the move. The device was moved on a tripod type roller. The mule would make a round with the pulley that he was dragging. As the mule made his round, the huge building that weighed more than 100 tons was gradually moved. It was moved so slowly that the human eye could barely see the building move as it moved forward just fractions of an inch. Each round that the energetic mule made in a circle moved the building toward its new location. The move took several months. It has been said that a single mule moved the huge structure through mud and slush over the period.

The truss work in the roof that make up the cathedral type ceiling that is 16 feet or more above the floor are constructed so that a man cannot hardly crawl through them. The walls are made with full 2 x 6 boards (in other words they were not milled further).

The building’s weight is massive and not known exactly. It required several ten ton jacks to work in unison to bring the walls up into place for the repair work on the floor beams which gave way during Mrs. Peral Haren’s funeral.

This accident occurred in the early 1960's. The building today is in very solid condition.

The two-story building built on this six-acres after the church building was moved was the third school building in the Aubrey School district.

A natural disaster occurred during 1918 when as many as ten people died during a flu epidemic in a short week. The obituaries in the old newspapers many times filled the front page of the Aubrey Argus.

The following are reprinted from the old Aubrey Argus newspapers:

From the Aubrey Argus on February 27, 1928:

Mr. G. Teddar, age 84, a long time resident of the Belew community, north of Aubrey, died at his home there Sunday afternoon after several days illness of pneumonia and complications. Funeral services were held at the Aubrey Baptist Church at 2 o’clock Monday afternoon, conducted by Rev. Bumlow of Gainesville, assisted by Rev. Craig of Aubrey and Rev. Scaggs of Sherman. Interment was in the Belew Cemetery. Mr. Teddar was born October 2, 1844 near Cartersville, Georgia. He was married January 19, 1866 to Mary Elizabeth Cobb. To this union were born 6 children, four of whom survived. Those surviving are Mrs. J.E. Boswell, Mrs. J.H. Hodges, Mrs. F.E. Stewart and Tom Teddar. Mrs. Teddar died February 16, 1914. He was married August 13, 1918 to Mrs. Lydia Green. He has been a member of the Baptist church 43 years.

From the Aubrey Argus on December 20, 1918:

More news in the December 1918, Aubrey Argus:

More Local and Personal News

[ Home ]